February 25, 2007
Yogyakarta (INDONESIA)
Borobudor Temple, Touching Buddha, and Loving Every Minute of Yogyakarta
I arrived in Yogyakarta at 4:30 this morning after a sleepless night on the train. Rather than checking into a hotel at an ungodly hour (a sure way to start off on a bad foot), I decided to wait out the morning. A woman I met on the train directed me to a 24 hour internet cafe where I had a bite to eat and worked on the webpage.
By
7am the public buses began running and I caught one to
the main bus terminal. From the station, I transferred
onto another bus bound for the small town of Borobudor
where Buddhism's spectacular Borobudor Temple is
located. Built around 700AD, the Buddhist temple at
Borobudor is rivaled only by Cambodia's Angkor Wat as
being Asia's greatest architectural masterpiece - and I
was anxious to see it.
I am not an expert when it comes to architecture so I will do my best to summarize what I saw. The temple was a squat structure, square at the base, with a walkway on each of the ascending levels. A large stupa was positioned at the apex, and it was surrounded by a variety of small monuments that looked like stone bells. The verdant green of forests and grasslands shot off in all directions providing an attractive contrast the to aged stone.
A
few local girls toured the temple with me in hope of
practicing their English. I was more than happy to help
them out and in the end it was almost like having a free
tour guide. They showed me the Buddha hidden inside one
of the stone monuments and told me touching him brings
good fortune. Many of the surrounding tourists began
cheering when I was able to nick the fingers of the
Buddha with my long arms so maybe there is some truth to
the whole legend. If something bad should happen, at
least I have this going for me.
As
more tourists began pouring into the park it became
crowded at the temple. I became the center of attention
with all the students who had come to practice their
English and/or interview a foreigner as a school
assignment. I must have conducted an interview with 30
different groups and posed for hundreds of pictures
because it lasted over three hours. Having adopted the
name Ricky for this trip (it is much easier for the
locals to pronounce), I had a laugh as the girls would
sigh in unison, "Ricky! Ricky Martin..." I did not feel
like a pop star, but I did develop a better appreciation
for how difficult it is to maintain high levels of
enthusiasm for each group.
The
onset of rain clouds finally chased me away from
Borobudor. I headed back to Yogyakarta, called Jogja for
short, which is often described as Indonesia in a
nutshell. The city has long been known for its dominance
of Indonesian culture, but I have not seen enough of
Indonesia to comment further on this. What I can easily
say is that Jogja is one of the few cities I actually
like. There is a lot going on here, but nothing is over
the top and the people are unconditionally friendly.
The
city also has a big underground art scene. Paintwork,
similar to what is shown to the left, covers many building walls
creating an organic feel. Unlike
other cities where paint is thrown up to "tag" a
building, Jogja has legalized the practice of graffiti
and encouraged the city's best to display their work.
Additionally, there are musicians aplenty. Every time I ride a public bus there is at least one
guitarist who is performing. While this is obviously a
great way to make money, the locals (who are accustomed
to such tactics) still show an appreciation by
contributing to the better artists.
I didn't check into a hostel until 7pm because it was such a rewarding day of exploring. After unloading my backpack and taking another cold shower (how can I complain at only 3USD/night), the owner directed me to a local haunt for dinner. I have now grown accustomed to eating with my hands - although I must look like a man from the jungle to any westerners who see me shoveling food into my mouth. I figure, "When in Rome..."
Tomorrow, I will bicycle to Prambanan where the best collection of Hindu Temples are located. It will be a full day of riding as the temples dot the landscape roughly 20km outside the city.
